,v-r  j 

\  v  w\  e  a  a  yi  - 


sc  - 


(Sob's  Seal 


on  tbe  worft  of  tbe 

Bmedcan  fTract 
Society 


(ifoii’H  8>eal  on  tiff  umrk  nf 
tfrg  Ameriran  Sract  gwirliT 

ip  ODIN’S  “The  Hand  of  God”  represents 
God  in  the  act  of  creating  man.  The 
record  of  the  American  Tract  Society  shows 
God  at  work  creating  and  sustaining  a  great 
cause.  The  Society  is  nearly  a  hundred  years 
old.  Its  history  reads  like  a  romance. 
Organized  in  an  age  when  the  silver- 
tongued  orator  was  looked  upon  as  the  one 
leader  in  Church  and  State,  it  dared  to  em¬ 
phasize  the  oratory  of  the  printed  page.  It 
recognized  that  the  Christian  religion  was 
a  book  religion,  that  the  Bible  was  the  might¬ 
iest  means  of  propaganda,  and  that  whatever 
powers  of  persuasion  men  like  Daniel  Webster 
then  possessed  were  due  in  large  measure  to 
the  reading  and  careful  study  of  a  Book.  It 
remembered  that  while  all  honor  was  due 
to  Apostolic  preaching,  like  honor  was  due  to 
Apostolic  authorship.  It  believed  that  John 
was  as  great  an  apostle  as  Peter,  even  though 
Peter  did  the  preaching,  while  John  quietly 
meditated,  in  preparation  for  writing  these 
things  in  a  book.  John’s  ideal  was  that  of  the 
organizers  of  the  American  Tract  Society,  a 
world  full  of  books,  of  Christian  literature,  in 
all  forms  including  epistles  and  visions. 

At  the  time  of  the  organization  of  the 
American  Tract  Society,  men  had  just  heard 
that  wonderful  story  of  the  young  man  Scud- 
der,  who  had  picked  up  a  pamphlet  on  India 


2 


American  Tract  Society 


while  waiting  in  a  New  York  office,  and  had 
sailed  for  that  then  unknown  country.  It  has 
lived  to  learn  the  whole  of  the  story  of  the 
Scudder  tract,  and  to  celebrate  with  his  family 
a  century  of  missionary  effort  in  foreign  lands. 
It  said:  “If  we  can  inspire  one  man  like  Scudder 
to  missionary  effort,  our  work  will  be  worth 
all  it  costs.”  It  lived  to  realize  its  highest 
hopes.  It  sent  forth  from  its  own  official 
force.  Dr.  E.  M.  Wherry,  whose  family  has 
given  168  years  of  service  to  India,  and  whose 
children  are  even  now  laboring  there. 

To-day  men  see  the  power  of  the  printed 
page  as  never  before.  They  are  startled  by 
the  tidings  that  three  organizations,  hostile 
to  evangelical  Christianity,  print  more  relig¬ 
ious  propaganda  than  all  the  Protestant  de¬ 
nominations  combined.  They  feel  forced  to 
do  something  to  counteract  the  influence  of 
pamphlets  teaching  that  “Religion  is  the 
opium  of  the  people”,  which  are  now  brought 
to  our  shores  in  large  quantities.  They  are 
compelled  to  recognize  the  power  in  the  silent 
oratory  of  the  printed  page,  as  they  see  temple 
after  temple,  rising  to  the  memory  of  a  woman, 
who,  with  all  her  faults  and  frailties,  grasped 
the  great  truth,  that  people  were  depending 
too  much  on  preaching,  and  too  little  on  print¬ 
ing.  The  Protestant  churches  have  won  a 
few  Jews  to  acknowledge  Christ  as  the  Mes¬ 
siah,  while  the  tracts  of  the  Christian  Science 
cult  have  filled  their  churches  with  Jews,  so 
that  as  Rabbi  Wise  says,  we  shall  soon  need 
Christian  Science  Synagogues. 

In  letters  recently  written  to  us  in  answer 
to  a  questionnaire  sent  out  some  months  ago, 


GOD’S  SEAL 


3 


we  find  the  strongest  emphasis  on  the  value  of 
the  work  of  the  American  Tract  Society.  Dr. 
J.  Ross  Stevenson,  President  of  Princeton 
Theological  Seminary  writes,  “There  is  des¬ 
perate  need  of  the  right  kind  of  literature.” 
“The  leaflet”,  says  Dr.  Henry  Chapman  Swear- 
ington,  Pastor  of  the  House  of  Hope  Church, 
St.  Paul,  Minn.,  “has  been  found  very  effective 
in  commercial  advertising;  there  should  be 
no  limit  to  the  possibilities  of  this  method  of 
spreading  the  message  of  the  gospel.”  Dr. 
John  Timothy  Stone,  Pastor  of  the  Fourth 
Presbyterian  Church  of  Chicago,  assures  the 
Society  that  it  “has  a  large  field  and  a  goodly 
heritage”,  and  Dr.  Mark  A.  Matthews,  Pastor 
of  a  church  of  nearly  eight  thousand  members 
in  Seattle  says,  “You  can  do  great  good  if 
you  publish  only  orthodox  literature”. 

Dr.  A.  Z.  Conrad,  of  Park  Street  Church, 
Boston,  Mass,  gives  a  like  testimony  when  he 
says,  “The  American  Tract  Society  is  pre¬ 
eminently  the  organization  to  distribute  dis¬ 
tinctively  Christian  literature,  which  has  in 
it  positive  unequivocal  statements  of  faith 
and  by  concrete  illustrations  unfolds  the  reali¬ 
ties  of  religion.” 

Dr.  Howard  Agnew  Johnston,  known  all 
over  the  United  States  through  his  helpful 
books,  speaks  the  truth  when  he  says:  “You 
have  not  magnified  the  necessity  of  your  work 
sufficiently.  The  Tract  Society  should  be  the 
recognized  agent  of  a  united  Protestantism 
to  put  on  a  program  of  Christian  propaganda 
commensurate  with  the  need,  at  least  such 
an  attempt  to  meet  that  need  as  has  never 
yet  been  made.”  The  Christian  Church  has 


4 


American  Tract  Society 


placed  its  seal  of  approval  on  our  work,  by 
giving  to  its  support,  and  by  extolling  its 
achievements.  In  a  recent  month,  contribu¬ 
tions  came  to  us  from  forty-four  states. 


RE-ORGANIZATION 

The  past  year  has  been  one  of  reorganiza¬ 
tion,  and  steady  application  to  the  task  of 
putting  the  Society  in  a  condition  where  it 
can  discharge  its  obligations  and  meet  the 
needs  of  the  present  hour. 

On  November  15,  1922  Dr.  William  H. 
Matthews  became  General  Secretary,  and  Dr. 
Edwin  Noah  Hardy  assumed  the  newly  cre¬ 
ated  office  of  Executive  Secretary.  March  31, 
1923  Dr.  Henry  Lewis,  who  had  served  the 
Society  with  efficiency  for  twenty-five  years  in 
an  editorial  capacity,  gave  up  his  duties  with  us 
to  return  to  the  pastorate.  Substantial  recogni¬ 
tion  of  his  long  and  faithful  service  was  shown 
by  the  action  of  the  Executive  Committee,  in 
creating  an  Appreciation  Fund  to  which  all 
friends  of  the  Society  were  given  the  oppor¬ 
tunity  to  subscribe.  By  unanimous  action  of 
the  Executive  Committee,  the  space  occupied 
by  the  retail  business  of  the  Society  was  re¬ 
duced,  and  a  portion  of  the  store  was  sublet, 
diminishing  the  rent  of  our  premises  at  101 
Park  Avenue  to  a  small  sum. 

A  contract  was  also  entered  into  with  one 
of  our  largest  publishing  houses,  which  will 
enable  the  Society  to  furnish  many  publica¬ 
tions  that  it  has  been  impossible  to  print 
because  of  the  constantly  increasing  need  for 


GOD’S  SEAL 


5 


pamphlets  and  tracts  in  English  and  foreign 
languages. 

Through  a  large  gift  for  this  special  pur¬ 
pose  the  debt  which  accumulated  in  the  War 
period  has  been  greatly  reduced  during  the 
past  few  months,  and  the  changes  recently 
made  make  us  confident  that  it  will  soon  be 
entirely  discharged. 

We  court  a  close  investigation  of  the  busi¬ 
ness  methods  of  the  Society,  by  the  most  critic¬ 
al  giver,  feeling  sure  that  the  more  careful 
the  investigation  the  larger  will  be  the  interest 
in  our  work. 

OUR  PERIODICALS 

The  Society  publishes  two  periodicals  with 
real  missionary  merit.  The  Sunday-School 
paper,  “Apples  of  Gold”,  is  issued  in  colors  for 
children.  It  is  published  monthly,,  but  the 
sheets  are  separated  into  four-page  weekly 
parts  so  that  it  provides  a  weekly  paper  for 
each  Sunday-School  International  Lesson. 

The  Spanish  paper  “Manzanas  de  Oro”  is 
published  on  the  same  plan.  Its  popularity 
is  steadily  increasing.  Recently  an  order  came 
from  Buenos  Aires,  Argentine  Republic,  for 
2,500  copies.  Its  circulation  is  25,000  copies, 
making  a  total  of  over  100,000  copies  per 
month  when  the  sheets  are  separated. 

The  “American  Messenger”,  was  discon¬ 
tinued  in  March  1923,  as  the  cost  of  publishing 
this  periodical  was  constantly  increasing  thus 
making  a  large  annual  deficit,  which  the  Society 
did  not  feel  justified  in  continuing.  Plans  are 
now  being  made  for  the  publication  of  a  small 


c 


American  Tract  Society 


paper  for  free  distribution,  giving  an  account 
of  the  activities  of  the  Society  and  serving  in 
a  general  way  as  its  official  organ. 


Readers  of  "Manzanas  de  Oro'  in  Valdivia.  Chili. 


GOD’S  SEAL 


7 


OUR  COLPORTERS 

Colporter  service  has  been  a  special  fea¬ 
ture  of  the  work  of  the  Society  from  the  time 
when  it  took  our  colporters  weeks  to  reach 
unsettled  sections  of  the  Middle  West,  to  the 
present  hour.  We  have  those  who  are  carry¬ 
ing  the  message  of  the  Master  to  the  miners, 
the  sailors,  the  lumbermen,  and  the  immigrants. 
We  are  frequently  asked  concerning  the  type 
of  men  that  we  are  now  able  to  secure  for 
colporter  work,  and  are  glad  to  say,  that  they 
are  not  only  godly  men,  but  men  of  education 
and  refinement  with  a  great  deal  of  tact. 

Rev.  John  A.  Birseneek,  our  Ellis  Island 
worker,  can  speak  his  word  of  sympathy  and 
cheer  to  the  newcomers  to  our  fair  land  in  16 
languages.  He  does  it  while  visiting  the  sick, 
comforting  the  troubled,  and  straightening  out 
the  tangled  affairs  of  the  perplexed.  Gladly  they 
read  the  printed  page  that  he  gives  them.  They 
ask  for  more.  Many  a  man  or  woman  could  be 
made  a  lover  of  his  country,  and  a  lover  of 
Christ,  before  he  gets  away  from  Ellis  Island 
if  every  opportunity  to  present  the  way  of 
life  in  the  man’s  own  language  were  used. 

Mr.  Fred  Fredrikson  impresses  you  with 
his  spirituality.  When  the  new  General  Sec¬ 
retary  met  him  for  the  first  time,  he  was  re¬ 
minded  of  Anton  Lang  of  Oberammergau,  at 
whose  house  he  was  privileged  to  stay  when 
he  went  to  see  the  Passion  Play  of  1922.  He 
is  a  real  soul  winner.  In  our  last  conversation 
together  he  modestly  told  us  of  a  seaman  who 
had  recently  joined  the  church  through  the 
influence  of  his  tract  work.  He  testifies  to  a 


8 


American  Tract  Society 


welcome  on  every  side  and  to  the  greedy  way 
men  devour  the  literature  we  sell  and  give 
them. 


Rev.  and  Mrs.  Francis  E.  Smith. 


The  character  of  our  colporters  in  the  state 
of  Washington,  and  surrounding  country,  will 
be  readily  seen  from  the  following  quotation, 
from  the  letter  of  Rev.  Francis  E.  Smith  of 
March  6th,  1923.  “During  the  last  year  I  pre¬ 
pared  a  document  of  twelve  pages  which  was 
different  from  any  previous  publications,  in 


GOD’S  SEAL 


9 


that  I  gave  the  American  Navigator,  Captain 
Robert  Gray,  credit  for  having  discovered  the 
inland  waters  of  the  State  of  Washington.” 

This  shows  that  Mr.  Smith  is  a  man  of 
education  with  a  real  interest  in  the  things 
that  help  to  make  our  country  what-  it  is  to¬ 
day.  It  also  shows  a  part  of  the  unbeaten 
path  traveled  by  our  Colporter. 

Our  colored  colporter  at  the  Grand  Central 
Station  was  born  in  slavery,  but  years  upon 
years  of  ceaseless  thinking  of  his  real  Master 
Jesus,  have  given  a  glow  to  his  countenance 
like  that  on  the  forehead  of  Eva’s  Uncle  Tom, 
in  Harriet  Beecher  Stowe’s  immortal  story. 
He  carries  the  luggage  of  men  and  women  at 
the  New  York  Central  Station,  and  then  quietly, 
with  an  attractive  smile  on  his  aged  and  dark 
skinned  countenance,  hands  a  tract  or  a  beauti¬ 
ful  card  with  a  Bible  text  to  the  traveler. 
Letters  and  postal  cards  come  back  to  him 
from  the  people  themselves  and  from  mothers 
and  other  relatives,  thanking  him  for  his  kind 
clCt 

OUR  PUBLICATIONS 

The  Society  published  2,210,625  tracts,  leaf¬ 
lets,  pamphlets,  periodicals  and  books  during 
the  last  year. 

Sixty  per  cent  of  these  publications  have 
been  in  foreign  languages.  We  are  especially 
proud  of  our  Spanish,  Italian,  and  Chinese 
publications.  These  have  been  highly  com¬ 
mended  by  experts.  Rev.  Huie  Kin,  pastor  of 
the  Chinese  Presbyterian  Church  of  New  York 
City,  recently  gave  a  telling  testimonial  con¬ 
cerning  the  service  rendered  by  the  Chinese 
publications  in  the  Chinese  missions  and  Sun- 


10 


American  Tract  Society 


day-Schools  of  the  United  States  and  Canada. 

During  its  ninety-eight  years  of  service 
the  American  Tract  Society  has  issued  publi¬ 
cations  in  178  languages  and  dialects.  The 
total  number  of  publications  for  this  period  is 
311,177,900.  The  Gospel  has  been  preached  by 
the  printed  page  under  the  direction,  and  at 
the  expense  of  the  Society  to  all  Nations,  thus 
fulfilling  Christ’s  Great  Commission  in  a  way 
that  has  been  approved  by  missionaries  of 
all  denominations,  and  better  still  by  the  Holy 
Spirit  Himself. 

We  have  been  forced  to  reject  books  of 
real  merit  in  order  to  satisfy  the  demand  for 
our  tested  publications,  and  so  have  not  at¬ 
tempted  to  publish  any  new  books  during  the 
last  year. 

We  have  kept  up  our  fine  stock  of  English 
and  Foreign  tracts,  and  have  published  an 
excellent  pamphlet  by  Dr.  Robert'  Watson,  on 
the  Coming  Revival.  We  have  also  published  a 
bilingual  leaflet  of  four  pages  in  Italian  and 
English  with  the  Doxology,  The  Lord’s  Prayer, 
The  Apostles’  Creed,  and  a  dozen  of  our  favor¬ 
ite  Evangelistic  Hymns. 

We  have  in  preparation  selected  chapters 
from  the  New  Testament,  intended  especially 
for  memory  chapters  and  also  Messianic  chap¬ 
ters  from  the  Old  Testament.  These  are  to  be 
published  in  five  different  languages  in  large 
quantities,  and  it  is  expected  that  they  will  be 
of  great  use  to  religious  workers. 

THE  MINISTRY  OF  MUSIC  AND  SONG 

The  American  Tract  Society  is  justly  proud 
of  its  record  of  nearly  a  century  in  providing 


GOD’S  SEAL 


11 


Gospel  hymnals  in  many  languages  at  less  than 
cost  for  missionary  purposes  in  this  country 
and  elsewhere.  The  hymnals  are  distributed 
by  the  tens  of  thousands  and  through  them 
multitudes  have  been  won  to  Christ,  His  fol¬ 
lowers  have  been  strengthened  in  the  faith  and 
the  Gospel  of  good  cheer  has  been  everywhere 
proclaimed. 

While  this  ministry  is  only  one  phase  of 
the  extensive  work  of  the  American  Tract 
Society  it  alone  would  entitle  the  Society  to 
unique  distinction  and  to  the  prayers  and 
generous  support  of  the  followers  of  Christ. 

WHITE  FOR  THE  HARVEST 

A  glimpse  of  our  country  to-day,  cannot  but 
convince  the  Christian,  that  the  fields  are  white 
already  to  the  harvest.  There  are  3,000,000 
Poles,  1,500,000  Jugo  Slavs,  400,000  Slovaks, 
400,000  Czechs,  400,000  Russians,  and  350,000 
Ukrainians — more  than  6,000,000  new  Amer¬ 
icans.  The  report  on  work  among  these  people 
as  given  at  the  Conference  of  the  Home  Mis¬ 
sions  Council,  recently  held  at  Atlantic  City,  at 
which  twenty-eight  denominations  were  repre¬ 
sented,  stated  that,  “Our  combined  missionary 
service  to  these  people  is  wholly  inadequate,” 
and  that  a  united  press  “for  co-operative  pub¬ 
lication  in  foreign  languages  of  tracts,  books, 
and  periodicals”,  was  the  only  solution  of  the 
difficulty. 

The  denominations  are  helpless  in  doing 
this  work  alone.  An  interdenominational 
agency  is  an  absolute  necessity.  The  American 
Tract  Society  was  organized  to  meet  just  such 


12 


American  Tract  Society 


a  need  as  this.  The  half  dozen  Christian  men, 
who  met  in  a  downtown  office  nearly  a  century 
ago  to  organize  this  Society,  were  men  of  vis¬ 
ion.  They  saw  this  new  day  of  opportunity 
coming,  and  they  laid  the  foundation  for  it  by 
sending  out  697,900  tracts  during  the  first  year 
of  the  Society’s  existence. 

LATIN  AMERICA 

One  of  the  members  of  our  Executive  Com¬ 
mittee  Dr.  David  G.  Wylie,  recently  returned 
from  a  visit  to  the  Canal  Zone.  He  is  very 
enthusiastic  concerning  the  future  of  the  work 
of  the  American  Tract  Society  in  South  Amer¬ 
ica.  He  found  that  our  Spanish  hymnal  was 
counted  superior  to  anything  published,  and 
that  many  others  of  our  Spanish  publications 
were  very  favorably  received.  In  talks  with 
authorities  on  Christian  work  he  was  led  to 
believe  that  the  Door  of  Opportunity  in  South 
America  was  wide  open  for  the  American 
Tract  Society.  So  strong  was  the  feeling  of 
the  Secretary  of  the  Bible  Society  at  the  Canal 
Zone,  that  he  prepared  an  article  for  publica¬ 
tion  with  the  caption,  “Re-enter  the  American 
Tract  Society”.  In  this  article  he  says:  “It 
is  very  gratifying  news  that  has  come  to  us 
in  the  Canal  Zone  through  Dr.  David  G.  Wylie, 
of  the  re-organization  of  the  American  Tract 
Society.  There  is  still  a  stupendous  need  of 
just  the  kind  of  service  that  the  Society  was 
brought  into  existence  to  perform.  What  is 
needed  is  an  agressive  program  of  literary 
evangelism  that  will  carry  the  printed  Word 
and  other  helpful  literature  to  every  home  in 
the  land. 


GOD’S  SEAL 


13 


“Among  our  neighbors  in  Latin  America  as 
well  as  in  the  homeland,  there  is  a  crying  need 
for  the  work  of  just  such  a  benevolent  Christian 
Missionary  publishing  house  as  the  American 
Tract  Society.  The  American  Tract  Society 
should  have  therefore  our  prayers  and  best 
wishes  and  hearty  co-operation  in  its  effort  to 
re-organize  in  such  a  manner  as  to  meet  effi¬ 
ciently  the  present  need.” 

OUR  EYES  ARE  TOWARD  THE  FUTURE 

The  American  Tract  Society  is  rich  in  its 
past.  We  are  proud  of  the  fact  that  our  Soc¬ 
iety  has  published  the  gospel  in  178  languages, 
dialects,  and  characters,  and  that  811,177,900 
leaflets,  volumes,  and  periodicals  have  been 
distributed  through  our  various  agencies. 

A  total  of  $2,750,000  worth  of  Christian 
literature  or  the  equivalent  of  five  and  a  half 
billion  pages  of  tracts  has  been  distributed 
gratuitously.  Our  colporters  visited  25,000,000 
families  in  this  work  and  judiciously  placed 
18,000,000  volumes.  While  doing  this  they 
conducted  650,000  religious  meetings,  pointing 
to  Christ  as  the  one  Saviour  of  the  World. 

Our  eyes  are  not  on  the  past,  but  toward 
the  future.  We  believe  the  glory  of  the  past 
is  given  us  by  God  to  lay  a  foundation  for  a 
work  in  the  future. 

We  celebrate  our  One  Hundreth  Anniversary 
in  May  1925,  and  are  looking  forward  to  pub¬ 
lishing  millions  of  new  tracts  in  the  language 
and  spirit  of  the  day.  We  hope  to  serve  all 
Protestant  Christians  in  such  an  attempt  to 
reach  the  unchurched  masses  through  Christian 


14 


American  Tract  Society 


literature,  as  has  never  been  made,  and  to  be¬ 
come  the  recognized  agency  of  a  united  Pro¬ 
testantism,  in  publishing  such  literature  and 
pamphlets  in  foreign  languages  as  will  prove 
a  mighty  force  in  counteracting  the  Bolshe¬ 
vistic  and  atheistic  pamphlets  that  Russia  is 
now  sending  to  our  shores. 

We  hope  to  increase  our  endowment  to 
$1,000,000,  to  secure  a  permanent  home  for 
the  Society  and  to  have  the  prayers  of  all 
Evangelical  Christians,  that  the  Society  may 
have  faith  to  grasp  its  full  opportunity 
and  wisdom  to  properly  discharge  its  duties 
toward  Christ  and  the  Church,  and  become 
a  powerful  agency  in  the  Hand  of  God  to  help 
demonstrate  to  the  world  the  fact  that  the 
Gospel  of  Jesus  Christ  is  the  one  great  need 
of  all  nations. 

Doing  this  we  will  be  true  to  the  founders  of 
the  Society  who,  in  1825,  thus  defined  its  object 
“To  diffuse  a  knowledge  of  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ  as  the  Redeemer  of  sinners,  and  to  pro¬ 
mote  the  interests  of  vital  godliness  and  sound 
morality  by  the  circulation  of  religious  liter¬ 
ature.” 

ANNUITIES 

The  annuity  bond  or  conditional  gift  assur¬ 
ing  one  of  a  regular  and  stated  income  through 
life  and  at  the  same  time  aiding  a  worthy  cause 
is  rapidly  growing  in  popularity  and  deservedly 
so.  This  application  of  stewardship  is  based  on 
sound  business  principles.  It  is  a  form  of 
investment  which  guarantees  the  constant  and 
ultimate  security  of  the  capital  with  a  liberal 
semi-annual  income  subject  to  no  trade  fluctua- 


GOD’S  SEAL 


IS 


tions  or  losses  or  risks  involved  in  other 
investments.  It  makes  possible  sure  pro¬ 
vision  for  the  future  with  the  privilege  of 
determining  the  distribution  of  one’s  property 
so  that  ultimately  without  risk,  loss  or  shrink¬ 
age  it  shall  be  used  entirely  to  further  a  world¬ 
wide  Christian  Enterprise. 

The  American  Tract  Society  after  giving 
the  most  careful  consideration  to  every  phase 
of  the  subject  now  offers  to  the  annuitant  a 
liberal  rate  of  annuity,  guarantees  the  prompt 
and  sure  payment  of  the  annuities  with  the 
preservation  of  the  capital  intact,  and  presents 
an  object  for  one’s  benevolence  of  prime  im¬ 
portance  to  the  growth  of  the  Kingdom  of  God. 

The  conditional  gift-contract  of  the  Ameri¬ 
can  Tract  Society  is  so  attractive  and  satis¬ 
factory  that  we  are  confident  that  it  will  im¬ 
mediately  interest  and  strongly  appeal  to  a 
host  of  friends  who  appreciate  the  importance 
of  the  great  cause  the  Society  represents. 

LEGACIES 

To  a  surprisingly  large  extent  the  great 
volume  of  service  rendered  by  the  American 
Tract  Society  for  nearly  a  century  was  made 
possible  through  legacies.  The  stories  of  these 
legacies  and  that  which  they  have  accom¬ 
plished,  furnish  material  for  one  of  the  most 
interesting  chapters  in  the  history  of  the  Soc¬ 
iety.  Were  these  facts  better  known  we  be¬ 
lieve  that  most  of  those  now  contributing  to 
the  work  of  the  Society,  together  with  many 
others  would  heed  the  suggestion  to  make 
such  provision  in  their  wills  as  shall  perpetually 


16 


American  Tract  Society 


provide  means  for  the  maintenance  of  the 
indispensable  ministry  of  the  American  Tract 
Society. 

DONATIONS 

The  Society  should  have  a  million  dollars 
during  the  coming  year  to  meet  adequately  the 
need  for  Christian  literature  in  English  and 
Foreign  languages.  Large  quantities  of 
new  tracts  should  be  published  at  once,  and 
hymnals  printed  in  Russian  and  several  other 
foreign  languages.  Americanization  pam¬ 
phlets  ought  to  be  put  on  the  press  and  new 
ones  prepared.  Our  splendid  stock  of  plates 
can  all  be  used  to  print  editions  of  standard 
religious  works.  All  this  requires  money. 
Churches  and  individuals  can  make  no  better 
investment  than  to  use  our  equipment,  secre¬ 
tarial  force  and  experienced  workers  in  putting 
on  such  a  program  of  religious  propaganda  as 
will  arouse  Christendom  to  new  hope,  in  coun¬ 
teracting  the  influences  that  are  undermining 
Christian  civilization. 

Will  you  do  your  share  in  checking  the 
influence  of  the  atheistic  literature  from  foreign 
shores,  and  in  leading  the  unchurched  of  our 
beloved  country  to  believe  in  the  simple  story 
of  the  Christ,  who  made  Christian  civilization 
possible  and  will,  if  His  followers  do  their  part, 
yet  draw  all  men  to  Him  in  a  bond  of  Christian 
Brotherhood  such  as  the  World  has  never  seen. 

Cy)f!f 

General  Secretary. 


Life  Members  and  Directors 

The  donation  of  $30  at  one  time  consti¬ 
tutes  a  Life  Member  of  the  American  Tract 
Society;  the  addition  of  $70,  or  the  donation 
of  $100  at  one  time,  a  Life  Director-  Life 
Members  may  receive  annually  tracts  to  the 
value  of  $1 ;  Life  Directors  to  the  value  of 
$2,  if  applied  for  within  the  Society's  year, 
from  April  1st  to  April  1st,  in  person  or  by 
written  order-  No  individual  can  draw  more 
than  one  annuity  any  year  for  himself-  Col- 
porters  are  not  authorized  to  supply  Life 
Members. 


Have  You  Remembered  the  American 
Tract  Society  in  Your  Will? 

FORM  OF  BEQUEST 

1  give  and  bequeath  to  the  “AMERICAN 
Tract  Society,”  instituted  in  the  City  of 

New  York.  May,  1825,  the  sum  of . 

dollars  to  be  applied  to  the  charitable  uses 
and  purposes  of  said  Society. 

Three  witnesses  should  state  that  the  testator  de¬ 
clared  this  to  be  his  last  will  and  testament,  and  that 
they  signed  it  at  his  request,  and  in  his  presence  and 
the  presence  of  each  other. 


AMERICAN  TRACT  SOCIETY 

HOME  OFFICE 

101  Park  Avenue,  New  York,  N.  Y. 


Hmerican  {Tract  Society 

lOI  PARK  AVENUE.  COR.  40th  STREET 
-  NEW  YORK - - - 


President : 

WILLIAM  PHILLIPS  HALL 


Vice-President : 

DAVID  JAMES  BURRELL,  D.  D. 

General  Secretary: 

WILLIAM  H.  MATTHEWS,  D.  D. 

Executive  Secretary : 

REV.  EDWIN  NOAH  HARDY,  Ph.  D. 

Assistant  Treasurer: 

JOSEPH  E.  MEIERS 


Executive  Committee: 


David  James  Burrell,  D.  D. 
David  G.  Wylie,  D.  D. 
Frederick  H.  Knubel,  D.  D. 
Robert  M.  Kurts 
Newell  Dwight  Hillis,  D.  D. 
Robert  Watson,  D.  D. 

Silas  F.  Hallock,  M.  D. 

Isaac  W.  Gowbn,  D.  D. 

Carlton  E.  Hunt 


Rev.  Edgar  Franklin  Romig 
Robert  Scott  Inglib,  D.  D. 
Frank  A.  Hosmer,  D.  D. 
William  Phillips  Hall 
Edward  L.  Sufpern 
S.  V.  V.  Huntington 
S.  B.  Chapin 
J.  Frederick  Talcott 
Finis  S.  Idlbman 


Donations  for  the  work  should  be  forwarded  to  the 

American  Tract  Society 

101  Park  Avenue  New  York,  N.  Y. 


